Hugh's Posts

I’m 14 months post-surgery and my exercise ability hasn’t completely recovered yet. If you are asymptomatic, don’t have an aneurysm, and your stenosis/regurgitation isn’t severe yet, I’d wait. Keep working on your health and exercise. It will benefit your recovery when it comes time for surgery. Think of it like a Goldilocks problem: you need to be sick enough to warrant the risks of surgery and healthy enough to survive surgery. It sounds like you aren’t sick enough yet to warrant the risks.

I concur on waiting (with cardiologist advice). The heart can often compensate for valve issues when you have a healthy lifestyle. If you are asymptomatic your valve is probably not "holding you back". I especially agree with John's Goldilocks advice. The risk is not worth it yet, if you are still feeling healthy. While heart surgery like this is a lot more common, you never know what complications may occur since every body reacts differently.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I should also mention I am 77 and, whilst I was still running marathons at 70, once I got to 75, I really slowed down and was banned from marathons. Now I just combine a lot of walking with regular jogs on the treadmill and strength training in the gym

I am in NC. I "failed" a stress test and was told I needed a new valve. I did get a second opinion from a friend who said I could easily go two more years. He also said that if I was ready it would not hurt to have it now. I was asymptomatic but in great shape. I decided to have it replaced (bovine) and did not regret the decision. I was 63 at the time. Do what is best or you

TAVR is a way to replace the aortic valve, and does not address the aortic dilatation issue. But if the dilatation doesn’t progress to aneurysm size, that might be a possibility. If you have a bicuspid aortic valve though, TAVR isn’t always recommended as the first choice, since the shape of the bicuspid valve does not always allow the TAVR to be seated well without leaking. Those are things your doc could discuss with you for your own particular situation.

I think you must be talking about TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement)has been around for 24 years. It isn’t for everyone, like a younger, first time bicuspid valve patient. The fit into the bicuspid valve isn’t always perfect, which can cause problems. It is mostly used for very sick, older patients, but its use has been increasing in all patients. My cardiologist assures me that next time I will probably have a TAVR. And a TAVR-in-TAVR can be done once. You should speak to your cardiologist about it, but if you have other issues to be dealt with ( like an ascending or aortic root aneurysm), the TAVR is probably not going to be possible because of the other work needed.